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The verse about "work out your salvation" does not mean EARN your salvation, it's speaking of showing your salvation through your works. That verse is found in Philp. 2:12. Look at Philp. 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, WHICH ARE BY JESUS CHRIST, .... Our works are done by Christ through us. He should get the credit. We only will have Christ in us when we have opened the door to his knock. Then we are saved, then we do his good works.

Becky

Our works are done by Christ through us. He should get the credit. We only will have Christ in us when we have opened the door to his knock. Then we are saved, then we do his good works.

We all agree that any works done are to be attributed to Christ. What we stress is that you must cooperate with Christ in order to acheive these works. I am not compelled to leap out of bed and start helping the poor or feeding the hungry. I am not a robot. I have to decide with my human mind to cooperate in doing Jesus' work, or not.

It is in this sense of cooperating in the works that the Catholics stress. We all agree that one who does not show these works is not really saved. So if someone claims they are saved but has nothing to show for it we know that they are not saved.

You say that works must naturally follow from placing your faith in Jesus. We say that you must have works or your faith is not real. There is no essential difference except...

We recognize that people can have an emotional episode and feel that they are "saved" but that this can wear off. Or 20 years later a "Saved" person can have doubt or fall into sin. Our lives are not changed by a one-time decision, but rather by a lifetime of decisions to help be Jesus to the world.